General Hospital’s Emma and Gio Kiss: Braedyn Bruner & Giovanni Mazza Dish ‘Gemma’ Milestone (EXCL)

The romance of Gio Palmieri and Emma Scorpio-Drake has been building slowly since the characters entered each other’s orbits on General Hospital late last year and struck up a friendship. Now, the moment “Gemma” fans have been waiting for is finally here: On the Friday, September 19 episode of the show, the characters shared their first smooch. GH stars Braedyn Bruner (Emma) and Giovanni Mazza (Gio) joined Soap Opera Digest for a game of kiss and tell to break down the milestone moment for the young lovebirds.

Let’s Get Physical?

Earlier this week, Gio and Emma came thisclose to kissing, but ended up backing off. The two have become close pals and also happen to be living under the same roof — and they have yet to verbalize that they’ve developed feelings for one another that go way past platonic. But that almost kiss changed things, according to Mazza. “He became extremely conscious of those feelings,” the actor says. “I think he really wanted to kiss her at that point, and then for whatever reason, he just didn’t. All his impulses were there — he just didn’t act on it.”

For her part, Bruner shares, “I think Emma’s attraction to Gio was [sparked] really early on. I think it’s probably been there the whole time. But I think Emma can be really hyper-fixated on her mission, if you will. Not that Gio took the back burner by any means, or that the relationship took the back burner by any means, but I think she’s been so hyper-fixated on taking down Dalton. Yes, there’s been this push-and-pull [between the characters], but I don’t think it necessarily clicked until quite recently.”

Bruner thinks that Gio’s pledge to support her when Maxie was first rendered comatose and she opened up about her fears was the difference-maker. “Looking back on it, I think [Emma’s moment of realization] was when he was there for her with Maxie — that scene where he takes my hand at the table to comfort me, we just kind of had that moment where we were looking at each other and I know that for me as an actor, that felt like such a special moment. I think the attraction has been there, but the emotional connection has only grown deeper and deeper more recently, and I think she can’t deny it anymore.”

Being unable to deny it is one thing — taking the leap and doing something about it is another! In Bruner’s view, it’s fear that has been holding Emma back. She explains, “Emma is thinking, ‘I don’t want to ruin this. I don’t want to ruin our friendship because he’s the only person that I have.’ I mean, she has her grandmother [Anna], and she’s starting to build friendships with some other people, but I think there’s always that fear, when you’ve been friends for so long: ‘If we take this a step further, something could go awry and I could potentially lose you.’ That’s my outlook on it.”

One that resonates with Mazza. “I’d have to agree,” he nods. “Gio currently doesn’t have too much family that he can rely on, too many people in his life, so he thinks, ‘If I were to mess this up, I would have no one.’ So I think that’s held him back for a long time.”

emma and gio on GH — Almost Paradise: Emma and Gio’s near kiss turned out to be a prelude to the real thing!CHRISTINE BARTOLUCCI/DISNEY

It’s In His Kiss

But not anymore! Asked what shifted for Gio and caused him to stop holding back, Mazza has a simple but powerful answer. “When you know you know,” he declares. “And I think that’s why this is the right time for the kiss.”

Each star believes that the kiss falls into the “good things come to those who wait” category in terms of storytelling. “I personally love a slow burn,” grins Bruner. “I don’t know if that’s the hopeless romantic in me, but also just as an audience member, I know that’s a trope that I love to see. But we’ve done the ‘been there for each other’ thing for a while now, and I think it’s time! I don’t think we should have waited any longer.”

It’s not only “Gemma” fans who’ve wondered when it was finally going to happen — Mazza and Bruner did, too! Chuckles Mazza, “I remember when Braedyn first started on the show last November and we were working together for a couple of months, and before the Nurses’ Ball, we were like, ‘Okay, it’s gotta happen in the next few weeks.’ And then when the Nurses’ Ball happened, we were like, ‘Okay, it’s coming. It’s going to happen when we go to Niagara Falls!’ And then it didn’t happen then, either! We were like, ‘Oh, maybe when we get back to Port Charles.’ And then we waited longer and we were like, ‘Oh, maybe at the pool or something?’ It just kept on not happening! We thought it was going to happen a lot sooner than it did — which maybe is just me coming from not having experienced a slow burn before [laughs]! But I think we were both sort of excited for it to actually happen and now it finally is and we’re both really excited.”

The kiss kicks off a new “Gemma” era — one their growing fan base is sure to love. “Gio and Emma are in love,” Mazza beams. “That’s the new journey that we’re on. We’re flipping to the next chapter in our relationship.” Chimes in Bruner, “This may be cliché, but love is in the air! I hope we’re, like, the next big couple. Maybe that’s bold to say, but I think we’re a really great one to watch!

Eyes on the Prize: Bruner hopes Gio and Emma’s popularity will only continue to grow.ABC

Was the Gio/Emma kiss worth the wait? Let us know what you think about the GH duo’s tender moment in the comments below!